Tile fitting tool



nu. 2z, 1970 J. D. CANDLO 354mm TILE FITTING TOOL Filed Jan. 7, 1969 FIG. I.

INVENTOR JOHN DI CANDILO ATTYS.

United States Patent Oice 3,548,505 TILE FITTING TOOL .lohn Di Candilo, 231 Bella Vista Road, Devon, Pa. 19333 Filed Jan. 7, 1969, Ser. No. 789,440 Int. Cl. G01b 3/14 U.S. Cl. 33--174 5 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A tile fitting tool having a square, tile-shaped configuration with an upturned lip along one edge and a downturned lip along an opposite edge is disclosed for use in gauging the amount of material to be cut from a loose tile to permit it to be laid on a narrow untiled floorspace between a wall and a contiguous tiled floor area. In use, a loose tile is placed on the tool in engagement with the upturned lip, and the downturned lip is engaged against the outer edge of a laid tile in the tiled area when the tool is positioned on the laid tile. A gauge is placed on top of the loose tile and is butted against the wall to provide an accurate measurement of the amount of material to be cut from the loose tile.

The present invention relates to the art of laying floor tiles, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a tool which is useful in fitting tiles to be laid on a narrow fioorspace along a wall.

In laying floor tiles it is sometimes necessary to cut and lay a series of tiles on a relatively narrow floorspace extending along a wall or other obstruction. At present, professional tile setters do this by aligning one edge of a loose tile with the outer edge of an underlying tile in the tiled floor area. An identically shaped gauging tile is then laid on top of the loose tile with one of its edges butted against the wall or obstruction. The underlying loose tile is then scribed along the opposite edge of the gauging tile to permit it to be cut to provide a wall-engaging edge and the cut tile is laid on the lioorspace in the customary manner.

A primary disadvantage of the aforementioned technique is that time is required to properly align the loose tile to permit it to be scribed and cut accurately, since improper lits may result if not done carefully. In addition, the tile setters fingers may become covered with adhesive from the untiled floorspace while aligning the loose tile, and the adhesive may thereby be transferred to other tiles, requiring their extensive cleaning after the job is completed. Furthermore, the tile setters production may be slowed becaues of the necessity for continually cleaning his fingers. Also, it should be apparent that the foregoing disadvantages are even more pronounced when the tile setter does not possess the skill of a professional, for example, when he is a so-called do-it-yourselfer.

In view of the foregoing, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel tool which may be used for quickly and accurately fitting tiles to be laid on a relatively narrow fioorspace along a wall or other obstruction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive tile fitting tool which may assist inexperienced persons in tting fioor tiles.

As a further object, the present invention provides a tile fitting tool which tends to reduce the soiling of tiles by adhesive to thereby increase the productivity of its operator.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the fol- 3,548,505 Patented Dec. 22, 1970 lowing description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. l is a fragmentary perspective view of a partially tiled fioor on which a tool embodying the present invention is shown being used to gauge a loose tile prior to its bing cut and laid on an untiled portion 0f the iloorspace;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tile fitting tool illustrated in FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a Sectional view taken along line '3 3 of FIG. 2 to illustrate a gauging tile overlying a loose tile which is being gauged and scribed;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are transverse sectional views of a modified embodiment of the present invention showing its use; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another modified embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a room having a floor 10, a wall 11, and a baseboard 12 projecting upwardly from the floor 10 and extending along the base of the wall 11. A plurality of square tiles 13, 13, laid on substantially the entire floor area 10 in the customary staggered pattern, define a relatively narrow untiled fioorspace 14 between their outer edges 13a, 13a and the confronting upright surface of the baseboard 12 (see FIG. 3). The tiles 13, 13 are permanently bonded to the floor 10 by a suitable adhesive 15 which is normally spread over the entire oor area 10 and which is exposed in the untiled area 14 before tiles are laid thereon.

As noted heretofore, the fitting of tiles to be laid on the narrow lloorspace 14 is a slow process, and ordinarily a skillful tile setter is required to ensure proper fits. 1n addition, there is a tendency for the tile setter to transfer adhesives from the untiled floor area to the tiles, thereby necessitating their cleaning. In accordance with the present invention, a novel tool has now been provided to facilitate tile fitting by obviating the foregoing disadvantages, while still using a conventional tile as a gauging device as indicated at 13a for scribing the loose tile 13b.

To this end, the tile-tting tool 18 of the present invention is a tileshaped plate 20 (FIG. 2) of metal or plastic construction, having an upturned rearward lip 21 extending therealong at one end and a downturned forward lip 22 extending along its opposite end- The lips 21 and 22 are parallel with each other and are spaced apart a distance (measured from their inside surfaces 21a and 22a, respectively) which is equal to the length of one side of the gauging tile 13a, so that when a loose tile 13b is placed thereon with its rear edge in engagement against the inside surface of the upturned lip, its opposite or front edge is aligned with the inside surface of the downturned lip. In the present instance, the plate 20 also has parallel side edges 23, 23 which intersect the lips 21 and 22 at right angles, the distance between the edges 23, 23 also being equal to the Width of one side of the loose tile 13b. In conventional oor tiles, the length and width are equal, but the present invention facilitates the use of damaged or defective tiles as the loose tile 13b.

The tool may be kept relatively clean in use. To this i end, the downturned lip 22 projects from the plate 20 edges of the tile are then aligned with the side edges 23, 23 of the plate. The plate 20 and tile 13 may then be positioned on a laid tile 13 (spaced from the wall 11 by the untiled iloorspace 14) with the downturned lip 22 of the plate engaging the outer edge 13' of the underlying laid tile. A gauge, in the present instance another loose or gauging tile 13, may then be placed on the loose tile 13 on the plate 20. When one edge of the gauging tile is butted against the baseboard 12, its parallel opposite edge may then be used with a scribe 25 to mark the underlying loose tile 13b for subsequent cutting and laying An additional advantage of the present invention is realized when at least one tile has been laid on the lloorspace 14 so that its outer edge extends perpendicular to the baseboard. Thus, the plate and a loose tile thereon may be aligned both parallel with and perpendicular to the baseboard by simply sliding its downturned lip along the outer edge of the laid tiles until its side edge at the downturned lip engages the tile edge extending perpendicular to the baseboard. In this manner, alignment of the tile 'for gauging and cutting is facilitated. This is especially useful when fitting around outside corners or irregular obstructions.

If desired, a modified tool may be provided for use in fitting tiles. As may be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, a plate 120, similar to the plate 20, has an upturned lip 121 and a downturned lip 122. In addition, the plate 120 is downwardly bowed-out slightly so that the lower surface is not planar and the tool is free to rock parallel to the lips 121 and 122. With this structure, the tendency for the tiles to become soiled with adhesive may be reduced, since the downturned lip may be disengaged from the edge of the tile 13 by rocking the plate on its bowed surface (see FIG. 5). In this manner, the tile setters fingers need not be brought into proximity with adhesive when removing the plate 120.

Another modified embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 6. In this embodiment, a at plate 220 has a discontinuous upturned rearward lip as indicated at 221 and a like discontinuous downturned forward lip as indicated at 222. A pair of upturned tabs 240, 240 project upwardly along the side edges of the plate 220 intermediate the lips 221 and 222. Thus, with this embodiment additional advantages are realized, since the tabs 240, 240 cooperate to align a tile with the side edges of the plate. Furthermore, the gaps in the upturned lip 221 provide nger space to facilitate rapid insertion and removal of a loose tile from the tool.

In view of the foregoing, it should now be apparent that a simple and inexpensive tool has now been provided which facilitates the measurement of floor tiles to permit them to be cut and laid quickly and accurately with a minimum of skill on the part of an operator. Although the drawings illustrate a tool for use with a gauge consisting of a conventional tile, it is apparent that other gauges may be used if the length of the gauge corresponds to the length of the tool between the lips.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, various modifications, altera- CII tions or changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A tool for use with a gauge in fitting a loose rectangular tile to permit it to be laid on a narrow untiled floorspace disposed between an upright wall surface and confronting outer edges of a plurality o'f like tiles laid on a contiguous tiled tioorspace, the tool comprising: a plate for overlying a tile laid in the tiled iloorspace and for receiving a loose tile thereon, said plate having a downturned lip for engaging said outer edge of the laid tile and an upturned lip parallel with said downturned lip and spaced therefrom for engaging an edge of said loose tile when the loose tile is positioned on the plate, one of the lips on the plate projecting outwardly therefrom a distance substantially equal to one half of the thickness of the tile and the other lip projecting outwardly a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the tile, and the distance between the lips being determined by the length of the gauge so that when one edge of the loose tile engages against the upturned lip, the amount o'f material to be cut from the loose tile may be determined when the downturned lip is engaged against the outer edge of the laid tile and the gauge is disposed between the wall surface and a point on the loose tile.

2. A tool in accordance with claim 1 wherein the lower surface of said plate is bowed-out downwardly to permit rocking movement parallel to the lips, whereby the downturned lip may be disengaged from the outer edge of the laid tiles by downwardly displacing the upturned lip to rock the plate on said bowed surface.

3. A tool in accordance with claim 1 wherein said plate has an edge extending between said lips and a tab projecting upwardly from said edge to facilitate alignment of a loose tile on the plate.

4. A tool in accordance with claim 1 wherein at least said upturned lip is discontinuous to provide a gap to facilitate removal of said loose tile.

5. A tool in accordance with claim 1 wherein said gauge is rectangular and corresponds to said loose tile, and said plate corresponds in length to said loose tile, whereby when said loose tile overlies said plate and one edge is engaged against said upturned lip, the opposite edge is aligned with said downturned lip.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,144,697 1/1939 Zangrando 33-180(A) 2,855,690 10/1958 Marr 33-174(A) 2,911,022 ll/1959 Brown 33-180(A) 3,183,598 5/1965 Parr 33-174(G) SAMUEL S. MATTHEWS, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 33-180 

